Don't be a salted fish, the daily life of the concubine in the palace

The imperial palace is not the royal residence.

The concubines who were brought into the palace at that time were almost all daughters of humble families, with clumsy means and short-sightedness.

But now the newcomers in the palace are almost all daughters of famous families, who have received strict education, have their own talents and means, and are definitely not easy to deal with. The queen is the master of the six palaces, and her position is stable. She should focus on managing the six palaces and not spend all her energy suppressing the newcomers.

"Don't worry. I won't bother with those newcomers." The queen raised the corner of her lips and didn't care.

Nanny Liu breathed a sigh of relief.

Madam Liu supported the Queen's hand and walked through the Imperial Garden. At this time, a beautiful girl in a pink shirt came over with a smile and bowed to the Queen: "I pay my respects to the Queen."

The girl was born charming, dressed luxuriously and brightly, with a round face and a pair of black eyes filled with smiles and ambition.

The queen was stunned for a moment and recognized the girl in front of her - Xie Fanglan from the Xie family, the cousin of the current emperor.

When the emperor was still the Prince of Yan, Xie Fanglan occasionally visited the Prince of Yan's mansion and smiled at the queen as "Second Cousin". Most of the time, Xie Fanglan liked to go to the East Palace to visit her cousin, the Crown Prince, and everyone knew what she was thinking.

Now that the new emperor has ascended the throne, the Xie family can't wait to send their daughter here. Once in the palace, Xie Fanglan was named "Lanpin" and was granted the right to live in Huayang Palace.

The queen frowned slightly, looking at the young and beautiful Xie Fanglan, and seemed to see the ambitious Shen Wei again. Fear and disgust surged in the queen's heart.

"It's cold today. Why are you running to the Imperial Garden instead of staying in your own palace?" The Queen's tone was cold.

Xie Fanglan raised her chin and said arrogantly, "The red plum blossoms in the Imperial Garden are in full bloom. I picked a bunch of them and will send them to my cousin the Emperor later. The Empress is old, so naturally she doesn't know the joy of picking red plum blossoms for a girl."

The queen's face turned cold.

This Concubine Lan actually mocked her age to her face!

"It's getting late, and I still have to go look for my cousin the Emperor." Xie Fanglan bowed to the Queen again, then left leisurely, holding Hongmei in her arms.

The queen stood there, almost gritting her teeth.

Madam Liu quickly dissuaded him: "Master, don't bother with the newcomers. The two young masters are still waiting for you in Kunning Palace."

The queen suppressed her anger and returned to Kunning Palace with the palace maids. Sooner or later, the queen would punish Xie Fanglan, who was ignorant of the heavens and the earth, and would not give her any chance to climb up.

Return to Kunning Palace.

The palace maids had already brought the two children, Chengke and Chengzhen.

Since being imprisoned in the courtyard by the Queen Mother, the Queen had rarely seen her two sons. Now that they met in the palace, the Queen's tears fell, and she excitedly went forward to hug the two children: "Chengke, Chengzhen, good children, no one can separate us mother and son from now on."

The two children lowered their heads and said nothing.

Let the queen hold you obediently.

The queen cried with joy and touched the child's face: "Let me take a good look at you to see if you have lost weight."

In fact, the two children not only did not become thin, they ate well and slept well every day. Instead, their bodies became much stronger and they grew taller.

But the queen felt that the two children had suffered, and she burst into tears: "With mother here, no one can separate the three of us. You are the princes now, shouldering the future of Daqing, you must study harder, understand?"

Cheng Ke and Cheng Zhen looked at each other, not daring to refute.

The Queen held Cheng Ke's hand and said in a nagging manner, "You are the eldest prince. You will shoulder the future of Qing Kingdom in the future. You must not neglect your studies. You must be proficient in poetry, ancient books, horse riding and archery. Your mother has arranged for the scholars of Anguo Temple to teach you to read and practice martial arts every day."

"Your father is a strict man. He will occasionally come to take you back for tests. You must not embarrass your mother."

The Queen arranges the schoolwork for her two children.

Cheng Ke and Cheng Zhen listened silently with numb expressions, like two puppets who had lost the ability to think.

...

...

When the new emperor ascended the throne, there were not many concubines in the harem. Officials sent their daughters into the harem one after another. After being selected by the Ministry of Rites and the old maids in the palace, only qualified women could enter the palace to serve the emperor.

Yunzhou, the residence of Duke Lu.

Duke Lu sent someone to invite his daughter Lu Xuan over. It was cold in January, and Lu Xuan was wearing sheepskin boots and a red satin crane cloak, like a beautiful red plum blossom in full bloom in winter.

"Father." Lu Xuan walked into the room with a smile.

Duke Lu had two daughters, the eldest daughter Lu Xuan and the youngest daughter Lu Yun. Lu Yun was timid and cowardly, and could not achieve anything.

The eldest daughter, Lu Xuan, had skin as white as cream, a face as beautiful as Xi Shi, and was well-read. At a young age, Lu Xuan's reputation as a talented woman spread throughout Yunzhou, and she was no less talented than Liu Ruyan, the most talented woman in Yanjing City.

He carefully trained Lu Xuan just to wait for the right time to send his daughter to the palace.

But Lu Xuan refused to enter the palace immediately, and Duke Lu was puzzled.

"Every family sends their daughters to the palace, why don't you want to enter?" asked Duke Lu.

Lu Xuan took off the crane cloak and handed it to the maid beside her.

Lu Xuan smiled faintly, her voice as sweet as an orchid in a valley, and she spoke slowly and calmly, "Father, when dozens of fish are put into a new fish pond, they will compete for food in order to survive. Smart fish will wait until those dozens of fish have fought desperately for food before entering the pond."

Duke Lu paused while drinking tea.

He understood what his daughter meant, that now was not the right time to enter the palace.

"Then when do you plan to enter the palace?" asked Duke Lu.

Lu Xuan curled her red lips slightly: "One year later."

She would spend a year observing the situation in the harem, analyzing the temperaments and abilities of the concubines, and knowing the emperor's preferences. Only after she had enough information would she prepare to enter the palace.

She entered the palace not to be a concubine, her goal was to become the queen.

You must be fully prepared.

Lu Xuan stood up and said goodbye to her father, put on her crane cloak and returned to her boudoir. Lu Xuan was proficient in everything, including music, chess, calligraphy, painting, poetry, wine and tea. Lu Xuan was sure that the new emperor would like her flawless appearance.

The maid prepared the chess game.

Lu Xuan has loved playing chess since she was a child, especially playing chess with herself.

Lu Xuan held a white chess piece in her hand, and the cold winter sun shone through the window, outlining the curve of her beautiful profile.

The maid Xiaoqin came in and told Lu Xuan: "Miss, I have already found out that the most powerful person in the palace is Concubine Lan. She is a daughter of the Xie family, and the queen doesn't like her."

Lu Xuan didn't care: "Let them continue to fight, I want to see who has more tricks."

Putting down the white chess piece, Lu Xuan picked up a black chess piece and said, "I heard that when the current emperor was in the palace, he favored a woman named Shen who came from a humble family. Has Shen been given the title of consort?"

The maid Xiaoqin shook her head: "No. I heard that Shen wanted to be a concubine, which angered the emperor and the queen mother, so she was taken out of the palace by the queen mother. Everyone in the palace is saying that the emperor has abandoned Shen."

pat-

Lu Xuan put down the black chess piece, and her beautiful eyes flashed with deep thought: "Abandoned the Shen family?"

Shen gave birth to a daughter and two sons. The two children were born on the same day as the empress dowager and were said to be quite loved by the empress dowager.

When the new emperor ascended the throne, Shen, who was once a favorite, was inexplicably sent out of the palace, along with her three children.

Lu Xuan slowly picked up a white chess piece, her beautiful eyes thoughtful: "Why do I feel that the emperor is not disgusted with Shen, but is protecting her?"